Pretending: Defying Gravity
by Quinchberry
Summary: This is a small, one-shot, spin-off of my story 'Pretending.' There's a far more detailed description inside. The brief version is: Rachel turns down, once and for all, Quinn's offer to join her. Enjoy!


A/N !: SPOILER ALERT! Those who continue will probably finish knowing quite well what decision Rachel takes in the actual Pretending-Canon.

A/N 1: I own nothing. Glee and Wicked are the properties of their respective owners.

A/N 2: This is a small, spin-off, one shot from my story Pretending. It takes place after chapter 17, in roughly the same time frame as chapter 18. I recommend, obviously, that you read the story if you want to get a better idea of the situation.

In brief summary: Rachel has joined the Cheerios as part of Sue's plan to destroy Glee club. She's been asked, ordered really, to participate in the squad's less tasteful bullying activities. Specifically, she's been assigned to slushy someone. She doesn't want to and, normally, for someone like Rachel this wouldn't be a hard decision. She'd quit.

Complicating the situation we have a few factors. There's Rachel's ego, which will play into her decision in a way that I can't reveal here until I've posted chapter 18 in the main story. There's the allure of popularity, which is the weakest of the three factors thanks to Rachel's firm determination to do what she thinks is right and her accustomation to low social status. The final, though, and most compelling complication is the fact that Rachel is head over heels crazy for a Quinn Fabray, our oblivious protagonist, who has begged her to do what is necessary to stay on the squad.

Obviously I've known for a while what course things are going to take. I've had this specific part of the story planned out since chapter 8. I can, however, see the possibility of Rachel overcoming all three of those challenges and doing what is right. A huge part of my inspiration for Rachel is Elphaba, from Wicked, and Elphaba, in a similar situation, rejected the proposition. Rachel could do the same.

This is the start of that branch. I don't know if I'll explore it any further, it would probably interfere considerably with the limited attention I have to pay to the main storyline, but I felt like it deserved to be written. Many of you commented expressing that what Rachel should do and what would be morally correct is turn down the offer. This aside is dedicated to all of you.

Enjoy  
~Quinchberry

Pretending: Alternate storyline 17.5: Defying Gravity

Authors: Quinchberry, Thatmakesyoumyequivalent

Primary Pairings: Faberry, Hevans

Rating: M

-Quinn, please meet me in the theater after our respective extracurriculars. Be prepared to sing. Thank you. XO-

That was the text Quinn Fabray had received from her recently acquired best friend, Rachel Berry, Friday morning. It had been the first non-prompted communication Quinn had received from the girl since the confusion over the slushy hit list and, since the message, Rachel wouldn't even respond to the texts that Quinn sent. Additionally, the diva was avoiding Quinn at school again. She was nowhere to be seen in the halls and disappeared immediately after every class. Quinn hadn't been able to say so much as hello to the girl she considered her best friend.

If the blonde girl hadn't been respecting her friends space, if she hadn't had the assurance that they were going to meet up after school, she might have sent people to look for her. It had to be harder to hide from a group of people than just one. The roaming packs of slushy-armed students had always been able to hunt her down during freshman and sophomore years anyway. As it were, though, Quinn couldn't do much more than hold her peace and wait.

She actually got to the theater long before Rachel, before the diva had even wanted her to be there. Quinn didn't know if Rachel knew where the Trouble Tones practiced but she was in the theater, singing and dancing under the watchful eyes of Shelby Corcoran, an hour and a half before the appointed time. She couldn't help throwing glances towards the double doors at the top of the stairs, half-expecting Rachel to burst through in song at any moment. It bothered Shelby, it wasn't the ironclad focus that the coach wanted to develop so badly, but Quinn simply couldn't help it.

After practice Quinn ended up alone in the theater though, having said goodbye to her daughter, teacher, and teammates She was lounging in one of the chairs, toying idly with Sam's ring, as she waited. She had come to grips with the situation now. The immense emotional exhaustion she had felt the last few days was no longer there. It seemed like Rachel had come to some sort of decision and, even though she was being typically overdramatic, all Quinn could do was wait. There was no point in tiring herself out again. She had only just managed, with Evie's help, to develop a plan and vent all that stress that loomed with an anxious wait.

So Quinn, feeling somewhat juvenile, span the ring on the chain as she sat. She didn't have to worry about the Trouble Tones. Sue would mobilize the Cheerios eventually and then the lack of members would no longer be a problem. She didn't have to worry about Sam. He was firmly under control, the evidence was spinning right in front of her. She didn't have to worry about Rachel. Rachel had made her choice.

A quiet chime from her phone sent the state of calm Quinn was trying to force on herself flying. She scrambled to free the device from her pocket, almost stopped breathing as she saw that the text was indeed from Rachel, couldn't understand the short text that she had received.

-One minute.-

Another followed shortly after, equally indecipherable.

-Wicked, Defying Gravity.-

Quinn knew the song, after Phantom Wicked was probably the musical she was most familiarized with, but she couldn't imagine what Rachel wanted with it. Doubtless there was going to be some ridiculous production involved but, if Rachel wanted Quinn to participate, she should have given her warning.

The phone beeped a third time.

-I'm afraid you're going to have to start. The first line is: "Elphaba," say Rachel, "why couldn't you stay calm for once, instead of flying off the handle?" Ready?-

Quinn blinked twice. Was this what Rachel had meant when she said be prepared to sing? The blonde girl stood from her seat, turning to face the doors.

Another chime.

-Set.-

In the silence of the theater Quinn could just make out the scuffling of feet on the other side of the faraway doors. She inhaled, preparing herself for what had to be Rachel's plan. She kept the line she had been sent on the tip of her tongue, trying to remember the rest of them.

One more chime.

-Go!-

Rachel pushed her way through the doors and Quinn almost lost her prepared lyrics in surprise. The diva was dressed in black, all black. She looked like, well, a witch.

"Rachel," Quinn remembered her friend's little modification, "why couldn't you stay calm for once, instead of flying off the handle?" Rachel started hurrying down the stairs and a speaker, hidden somewhere in her atrocious mess of black clothing, played the discordant note that pushed Quinn into the next line.

(Sung)"I hope you're happy.  
I hope you're happy now.  
I hope you're happy how,  
You hurt your cause forever.  
I hope you think you're clever."

Quinn was too busy trying to remember the lyrics to really analyze them. She knew this had to be Rachel's answer. She knew, more or less, how the song went. She knew that Rachel was turning her down. What she didn't grasp was the nuance, the subtle message that had led the diva to this song.

"I hope you're happy."

Rachel snapped the line with all the bitterness that it deserved. It was like they were back in that hallway, emotions high, trying to argue out the right course of action.

"I hope you're happy too.  
I hope you're proud how,  
You would grovel in submission,  
To feed your own ambition."

Maybe this was Rachel giving them both a chance to vent. Heaven knew that Quinn had been frustrated enough just waiting and Rachel had been the one with an actual decision to make.

"So though I can't imagine how,"

Quinn joined back in on her cue, singing together with her best friend. She had been given the role of Glinda. It was no surprise. The personalities were similar enough. The very situation was similar enough. Quinn had even managed to wear pink to school that day.

"I hope you're happy,  
Right now."

Things fit perfectly. More than just having a personal affection for the song Rachel had to be able to see that. Rachel knew, obviously, what her answer was. She also knew Quinn well enough to be able to guess that her reaction would be in line with Glinda's.

She was right.

"Rachel, listen to me,"

Quinn's plea was every bit as impassioned as Glinda's had been. Maybe there was a chance, if she played along with Rachel's game, that the smaller girl would listen to her. The diva had finished descending the steps, was drawing closer to Quinn as the music softened.

"Just, say you're sorry.  
You can still be with the wizard,  
What you've worked and waited for.  
You can have all you ever wanted."

Quinn could already feel herself going to that emotional place, the one she was learning to recognize as a good one. That was the place that let her connect to the music and, even if that meant tears and shortness of breath, it made her that much more convincing.

"I know,"

Rachel just plowed ahead with the music, mind clearly made up. She placed a hand on Quinn's shoulder, caught hazel eyes with brown ones, and slowly shook her head.

"But I don't want it,"

The tiny girl screwed her eyes shut, tightening her grip on Quinn's shoulder.

"No,  
I can't want it,  
Anymore."

Quinn's part in the song was mostly over. She'd join back in later. This was Elphaba's moment, Rachel's moment. She had already gotten herself caught up in the music. All she had to do now was let Rachel carry her, show her how she felt in song.

"Something has changed within me,  
Something is not the same,"

Rachel withdrew her hand, looked up at Quinn, and took a little step back.

"I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game."

She had good reason to feel that way too. McKinley's rules, Sue's rules, Quinn's rules, had almost never been in her favor before. Of course she wouldn't want to work within the system.

"Too late for second guessing,  
Too late to go back too sleep."

Rachel knew how the Cheerios operated now. She'd never go back. She'd never even entertain notions of popularity until after school. Her decision was made.

"It's time to trust my instincts,  
Close my eyes,  
And leap."

Quinn despaired a little bit. There was nothing she could do. All she wanted was to help her friend, keep her safe and happy. Rachel was throwing away the pleasant present Quinn was promising her to focus on her future, nothing more.

"It's time to try defying gravity.  
I think I'll try defying gravity,  
And you can't pull me down."

Fighting against Sue certainly was as futile as defying gravity. Did Rachel think she was going to fare any better than her musical counterpart? She had to be aware the hell of slushies and bullying that was waiting for her even with Quinn pulling every string possible to alleviate it.

"Can't I make you understand?  
You're having delusions of grandeur."

The music picked up and Quinn felt herself being swept along with it. Rachel's hidden speaker was impressively powerful, enveloping both girls in the orchestral swells. This was, admittedly, probably the best, most clever, way Rachel could have broken the news to her. Anything else might have ended in tears, another argument. Quinn saw tears as a distinct possibility anyway.

"I'm through accepting limits,  
Cause someone says they're so.  
Some things I cannot change,  
But till I try I'll never know."

Rachel just sounded more and more confident in what she was doing as the music bolstered her. Elphaba was one of the girl's role models, that much was obvious. She was taking strength and courage from the song to back herself up.

"Too long I've been afraid of,  
Losing love, I guess I've lost."

It took Quinn a moment to interpret the way Rachel was looking at her. She didn't understand straight away that the smaller girl was referring to their friendship. She got it though. It was hard to miss with Rachel standing there, simply singing her soul out.

"Well if that's love,  
It comes at much too high a cost!"

Rachel was still right too. If Quinn had been the sort of friend who would cut ties the moment Rachel fell then she wouldn't have been worth having. She wasn't that sort of person though, not anymore. She had changed that much. Quinn didn't know how she was going to manage staying friends with Rachel but she sure as hell wasn't willing to give it up.

"I'd sooner buy defying gravity,"

Rachel drew closer again and it was then that Quinn could see the tears glittering in her eyes. This wasn't an easy choice for her either. Resolute as she was, the decision still wasn't pleasant. The brunette closed the distance between them, leaned in as she sang.

"Kiss me goodbye,"

Rachel followed her own instructions, fleetingly pressing her lips against Quinn's before backing away again.

"I'm defying gravity!"

It was only half a step though. Quinn's eyes were wide, locked on Rachel's as her heart pounded. It was a good thing that the blonde wasn't singing because that kiss, that electric contact that she had been yearning for in dreams just four days previously, definitely would have thrown her off. Quinn couldn't get over how good it had felt, how deliciously right Rachel's lips had tasted for that fraction of a second, how she wouldn't have minded prolonging the kiss if Rachel hadn't had to continue singing.

"And you can't pull me down,"

The music changed, rapid notes twinkling nearly in time with the pattering of Quinn's heart. Rachel's hands sought out Quinn's, each interlacing itself with its partner, and in the aftermath of that kiss each touch was tingly on Quinn's skin. She could feel Rachel's attention on her, feel it in her gentle hands and the teary plea of her eyes.

"Quinn,"

Rachel paused for the space of the missing syllable. It was clear that, as perfectly as the rest of the song fit, this was the most important part for the diva.

"Come with me."

It was the same offer Rachel had made in the hallway. Rachel was still offering a permanent friendship and refuge to her once enemy. Now, though, after that kiss and with their fingers interlaced it seemed so much more concrete.

"Think of what we could do, together."

And now Rachel was offering the same thing that Quinn had already offered. They'd leave the Cheerios and make a change together.

"Unlimited,  
Together we're,  
Unlimited.  
Together we'll be the greatest team there's ever been,  
Quinn."

They fit together so well, perfect friends, in every aspect. Their strengths compensated for the other's flaws. Rachel was teaching Quinn how to dream; Quinn kept Rachel safe and grounded in reality. Each understood the other's thoughts almost effortlessly. They even melded together on a physical level that might have concerned Quinn much more if she hadn't still been reeling from Rachel's lips. Rachel's fingers fit between Quinn's. They were right, just the size, and everything. When they curled together it felt natural to hold instead of being held. Rachel's kiss had turned the key on a feeling Quinn had never known existed.

"Dreams the way we plan them."

Quinn prepared herself to join back in, sing with her friend. That word seemed paltry, weak, to describe what she was feeling but she didn't know what to replace it with. Lover was sufficiently intense but it wasn't right; Quinn wasn't gay. Best friend had also been stretched to its limits. Companion wasn't strong enough. Rachel was somehow perfect, even in her weakness. It was like she had been designed for Quinn, sent to compensate for and save her, sent from heaven...

Quinn found the word she was looking for.

Of course, Rachel had found it first.

Angel.

Rachel was Quinn's angel and, according to Rachel, vice-versa.

"If we work in tandem,"

The blonde started to believe. The smile on Rachel's face, begging beneath watery eyes, was contagious. Maybe they actually could change something from the bottom. Maybe they could build something entirely new, discard the old broken system and make something better.

"There's no fight we cannot win,"

Who could resist the combination of Quinn's subtle cunning and Rachel's determination forever? No one, no one at school. Quinn had handled Sue before on her own, controlled the entire system with little help. Rachel had resisted and fought against all that pressure for years, was still doing it. Together they'd be unstoppable.

"Just you and I,  
Defying gravity!"

After only a few moments Quinn was already singing just as enthusiastically as her friend. Rachel's countenance was lifting as she saw Quinn's do the same and the blonde couldn't help herself. She spun, spinning Rachel with her. Each girl supported herself with her grip on the arms of the other and Quinn, at least, felt a note of giddy laughter infecting her voice.

"With you and I,  
Defying gravity,  
They'll never bring us down."

Rachel brought them to a standstill, eyes twinkling from more than just tears now, and released one hand as the music slowed.

"Well,"

She said, hope that hadn't been there earlier filling her voice.

"Are you coming?"

And the track didn't progress any further.

Quinn somehow managed to tear her eyes away from Rachel's and see the speaker that was now in the girl's hand. She had stopped the music. She was waiting for an actual answer.

She was cheating.

Rachel hadn't given Quinn's pleading portion of the song any thought. She hadn't paused to consider it one last time, even though Quinn's offer was every bit as sincerely felt as the one Rachel was making. The brunette had just continued with her song, waiting to spring her trap on the blonde.

Because Quinn had been caught up in the music, the music and the kiss and the emotions and the hope. All she wanted to do was say yes, go with her angel and conquer the school. She couldn't think why not. All that was holding her back was a faint indignance and a deeper, graver, feeling of concern.

Then, in the silent absence of music, reality hit.

Quinn could answer her own question. She knew who could resist both her and Rachel, who could tear them apart without effort should he deem it necessary, who had been Quinn's greatest enemy for far too long.

Russell could destroy them.

Quinn, unfortunately, was not a legal adult. If her father decided that she were permanently grounded, under house arrest, then she would have to stay inside. If he decided that she had to transfer schools to keep her away from Rachel then she would go. There was nothing she could do, not for a year. If she fell again then Russell would investigate. If Russell investigated then he'd find out about Rachel. If he found out the truth about Rachel...

Quinn might very well never see her again.

She shook her head, unable to actually voice that crushing no.

Rachel's face fell for a second but... It would actually be better if Quinn did all she could to help her friend with the position she had. That way they could stay friends, even if that had to be somewhat separated. Rachel recovered quickly enough, not to happiness but to determination, as well. She had to have been expecting that answer even if it wasn't the one she had hoped for. A tanned hand moved, starting the music again, and Quinn sang what was expected of her.

"I hope you're happy,  
Now that you're choosing this."

She would do her best to make sure, Rachel was happy, to fulfill that promise she had made in the bathroom four weeks ago.

"You too,"

Rachel responded and Quinn could hear an equal measure of pained honesty in her friend's voice.

"I hope it brings you bliss."

The tiny girl started backing away towards the stairs and Quinn felt tears of her own welling up in her eyes.

"I really hope you get it,"

She didn't want what they had to end, or even stop progressing. She didn't want to go back to Rachel the cordial acquaintance from the glee days. She wanted Rachel her friend, Rachel her best friend, Rachel her angel.

"And you don't live to regret it."

Quinn would have thrown any number of slushies, condemned any number of people or even herself to an eternity on the list, if it would have kept her Rachel hers. The tears were flowing freely now, on both Rachel's face and Quinn's. It felt like goodbye. It was goodbye. They were being separated, not by space or time or people, by ideology. Neither girl could overcome her upbringing.

"I hope you're happy in the end.  
I hope you're happy,  
My friend."

The music picked up for the last time, roaring into the final chorus, and Rachel fled up the stairs. Quinn followed without thinking, her only concern doing anything she could to alleviate a little of the pain they were both feeling, until Rachel turned in front of the doors. She was still crying but her face was set, grim, resolute. Quinn paused halfway up the stairs, staring at Rachel with her hand still on the rail.

"So if you care to find me,  
Look to the western skies!"

Rachel's voice rang through the theater, filling it, and Quinn's breath caught in her throat. This, without a doubt, was the brunette's best performance. In the midst of the perfect situation, singing the music from her favorite musical, the diva's voice quivered with a power Quinn had never heard before.

"As someone told me lately:  
Everyone deserves a chance to fly!"

The blonde thought she could remember telling Rachel something like that. She had been explaining what a flier did on the squad and the reference seemed obvious. With Rachel staring imperiously out over the massive room Quinn released an awestruck half-laugh.

"And if I'm flying solo,  
At least I'm flying free!  
To those who'd ground me,  
Take a message back from me!"

That would be Quinn's job. Surely Sue would shortly be demanding explanations as to what had happened. The blonde would worry about those later. Rachel, even in her witch-suit, was beautiful this way and Quinn only had seconds left to enjoy her.

"Tell them how I am defying gravity!  
I'm flying high, defying gravity!  
And soon I'll match them in renown!"

That was a certainty. Quinn could envision her friend on a Broadway stage, giving this same performance to a roaring crowd. What were Russell's sermons next to that? What were Sue's trophies or Quinn's anxiously desired Prom Queen tiaras compared to a true star? All Quinn could hope for was the privilege of one day seeing her friend there.

"And nobody,  
In all of Oz,  
No wizard that there is or was,  
Is ever gonna bring,  
Me down!"

"I hope you're happy!"

Quinn cried out, remembering her part. The tears hadn't stopped, they never had. This was the end, she could feel it, and she was lucky she was coherent enough to even attempt to sing. She could easily imagine the bullies of the school congregating, even just on the other side of the door, singing the mob's lines.

"Look at her,  
She's wicked!  
Get her!"

"Bring me down!"

"No one mourns the wicked!  
So we've got to,"

Rachel moved towards the door, still holding the note that melded flawlessly with the soundtrack.

"Bring her,"

One hand pushed that door open. Quinn started moving again, but she knew it was already too late. If Rachel wanted to disappear then she was going to disappear.

"Down!"

She was out the door, only the final, "Oh," echoing in the room to keep Quinn company.

FIN


End file.
